Thursday, 4 July 2013

Driving test 6th July 2013

Warm Up

“Driving Test”. Every player starts with a ball, dribbling around. There will be a number of cones, poles and goals set up in a big ‘arena’. When I shout “down the country lane” the players have to head for the nearest line of cones and weave in and out as if driving down a windy country lane. When I shout “down the motorway” they have to head for the big line of cones and run as fast as they can from one end to the other keeping the ball under control. When I shout “Fill up with petrol” they have to run to the nearest coach and pick up a coloured cone then carry it around. When I shout “park the car” they have to run to the nearest one of four goals and shoot the ball in then sit down next to the goal. Then they get up when we tell them, collect ball from goal and carry on. That’s the idea. It will probably be one of those ‘complete chaos’ games but that should make it fun J

 

Skills Session “Star Wars – The U6s Strike Back”.

Let’s get the Star Wars masks out again shall we? J  This time I’ll attach them to some short poles and we’ll set up a little dribbling and shooting session for groups of 4. No goalkeepers but instead they have to shoot the ball and try to hit Darth Vader or the Storm Trooper.

 

Matches

Only one skills session this week then straight into matches. Same groups of 4 as in the skills session. I will try to arrange teams before Saturday. I’m keeping track of who was with who each week so we mix it up and see who plays well with who.

 

Penalty Competition

After the matches, on the same pitch, each player gets to take 3 penalties. Top scorers from each pitch go through to the final which will take place in one goal with everyone watching.

Give and go 15th June 2013

Subject: RE: Saturday Training Session - 15th June 2013

 

This is what I was thinking for Saturday morning:

 

Warm Up

Dribbling Relay. TEAMS OF THREE. This means we will probably have as many as 8 or 10 teams so we’ll need to make sure we get them nicely spread out and lots of help from coaches. First player dribbles as quickly as possible to a cone then goes around it before dribbling back and passing to next player. When all players have had TWO runs they all sit down and we will have bronze, silver and gold. We could say that on their first go they have to go round the cone anti-clockwise (so with the inside of the right foot) then the second time they have to go clockwise (with outside of right foot)

 

Skills Session 1 “Give and Go”.

This is passing-based and involves teams of 6 players. Player 1 has to dribble a ball and when they reach the cone they have to pass around it to Player 2 who receives and passes it back around the back of the cone. Like a one-two around a defender. They then run to the end and come back but the other Player 2 starts with the ball. We will demo this but I think it will be good.

 

Skills Session 2 “Numbers Game”

We should all be familiar with this one now. One slight alteration is that players can score at EITHER END which should make it much quicker to get a result. Players not involved MUST STAND TO THE SIDE of the goal, not in or behind the goal.

 

Matches

Normal rules apply but we need a passing champion from each game. Coaches will need to help players keep count fairly.

 

Penalties if we have time.

Passing corridor 8th June 2013

Subject: Saturday Training Session - 8th June 2013

 


 

Warm Up

One-Two game. Each coach will have a coloured bib to give out to whoever they think is the best passer to come and join the coaches. I’m not going to be involved in this session as I want to look at who is there and think about teams for matches.

 

Skills Session 1 – “Passing Corridor”

Break up into 3 or 4 separate groups of hopefully even numbers. Cones laid out in a really wide corridor, offset from each other. 2 kids have to run down outside of the corridor passing to each other until the end….then run back as fast as they can before the next two take off. I’ll demo this to everyone.

 

Skills Session 2 – “Return to Sender”

Same groups. Similar to the game where we threw the ball out and they had to run after it, control it and bring it back. This time we will do 1 or 2 rounds of that and then mix it up by telling two players to go at once and see who can bring it back first and put foot on ball. Tackling allowed etc.

 

Matches

Normal rules apply but we will be counting the number of consecutive passes and the winning team will get a prize!

 

Penalties if we have time.

Star Wars 25th May 2013

Warm Up
“Star Wars – Revenge of the U6s”
I will be Darth Vader, other coaches are StormTroopers. The StormTroopers have to protect Darth Vader.
Kids have to dribble their ball around and try to get past StormTroopers before shooting the ball at Darth Vader.
Warning – I may make some masks for this as long as it doesn’t scare the kiddies J

Skills Session 1
“Control and Dribbling”
This will be a fast-moving game where we split down into 2 or 3 groups. Coach and players line up on halfway line.
Coach rolls ball away from player who has 10 seconds to run, get ball under control, turn and dribble back to coach and put foot on ball.
That player then goes to back of queue and next one goes. Try reducing time for better players if needed.

Skills Session 2
“Striking a moving ball”
Another fast-moving game in the same groups as above. One players starts in goal, others line up on halfway line.
Coach rolls or kicks ball into path of player as he/she runs in. Player has to try and strike first time and score.
That player then goes in goal and keeper goes to back of queue unless we have 3 keepers who want to stay in goal all the time for practice.

Passing Matches
Hopefully numbers will allow us to do 3 a side and no more but if we have to do 4 a side on the odd pitch that’s fine. Emphasis on passing. Either prizes to the ‘passing champion’ in each match The player in each match who makes the most passes. Tricky to keep count though) or the team that strings together the most consecutive passes. Not sure which one to go with – any thoughts?

Penalties at the end if we have time.

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Saturday 11th May training octonauts and nominated strikers

Warm Up
Just a quick jog to get hearts pumping

Sound The OctoAlert (this will be good if it’s raining)
All kids have a football and start off dribbling normally. Coaches are spread out to help and encourage.
There are 4 numbers and corresponding actions they have to remember:
Number 1 = “Octonauts - through the tunnel” (kids have to pass the ball through nearest coaches legs and hi-five on the way through)
Number 2 = “Octonauts - switch balls” (kids have to leave their ball and go and find another. Chaos!)
Number 3 = “Octonauts - drag-back”. Change direction by putting studs on ball and dragging back to go in the opposite direction (Mario thought I was joking)
Number 4 = “Octonauts – to the HQ” and they have to score in any of the goals and then race back to the parents for a drink.

I think it will be carnage but loads of fun!!!! J

Shooting and Keeping
We’ve not done penalties for a while so I want to slot this in before matches.
Split all players into four groups
Anyone who enjoyed the keeper coaching last week can go in goal. Rory can pick the best four volunteers as keepers
Quite wide goals as I’d like to encourage penalty takers to hit the corners and keepers to predict and dive
Literally one after the other, taking penalties. I’d really like coaches to constructively tell kids what they could have done better.
More power, foot over the ball, shoot with laces, hit the corners, EYE ON THE BALL, longer run up, foot through the ball etc

Matches
One major difference this week. Whichever coach is overseeing the match will, at the start of the match and after each goal, tell the other members of each team who they have to set up for a goal. If anyone else scores it doesn’t count, the sole objective is to set the nominated player up.

Monday, 6 May 2013

Saturday 4th May Session 2 West Wycombe

Started with traffic lights with yellow as using outside of the foot.

4 pitches laid out with gaps between.  3 on 3 session where we called out different numbers to get different players competing for the ball.

Goalie breakout session.  12 children in groups of 4 with 3 coaches.  Started off just throwing the ball  and asked children to get hands behind the ball.  Second part was similar but children had to dive on the ball after they saved it.

Matches at end were 4 on 4.


Sunday, 3 March 2013

Recap session 2/3/2013

9.15
Welcome.
Who has played football in the last week? Who has watched football in the last week. Chat if warm enough.
Recap on 3 core skills learnt so far. Shooting, Dribbling, Passing.
What other skills can we learn in coming weeks. Ask for loads of suggestions. Mini demonstrations could be fun J
May get kids to do some random running on spot to keep warm whilst we’re talking.
“Today we’re going to play some games which recap on the 3 core skills”

9.20
One Big Warm Up. “one-two-shoot”
As with 2 weeks ago, all kids, including reception, grab a ball and start dribbling around, keeping ball under control. All coaches join in (without a ball) and ask for a pass by calling “one-two” from whoever is closest and then pass back. This time, as soon as the child has receives the ball back from us we shout ‘shoot’ and they have to run and shoot into one of four goals marked with fluorescent posts – no keepers. Dribbling, passing and shooting all in one. Try our hardest to make sure every child gets at least a few passes. Want this to be a fast warm up with lots of activity. Again we need to be gentle with reception. If kids hit ball too hard/soft/off target let them know what to work on next time, maybe even ask for a better pass straight away. V important.

9.30
One Big Fun Training Session. “CARS”
The plan is to lay out a huge (quite wide) semi-circular ‘track’ with a start and finish line then a goal beyond the finish line. Halfway round the track there are also some fluorescent posts. Kids get split into groups of 4 and that group must all be of similar ability. They can decide whether they want to be Lightning McQueen, Finn McMissile, Doc Hudson, Francesco, Holly Shiftwell etc. Kids then line up next to each other on start line and when whistle blows have to dribble the ball round the track. This is a race. When they get to the posts they have to pass to one of 4 coaches who will be stationed there. Coaches pass back and then they can carry on round the track. When they get to the end there will be a goal marked out and they have to score a goal. 4 ‘gold doubloons’ for winner, three for 2nd etc. See how it goes and adapt if need be but if all good I suggest we do two rounds of this. Maybe we start second group off after first group have passed the passing stage? Really need to keep it moving and want to encourage those waiting to cheer them all on. Again, dribbling, passing and shooting all in one session. Reception may need hand holding as they go round in their groups of 4, (maybe 5).

9.50
Matches.
I’d like to try to give the kids more time on matches this week if possible. If we overrun we overrun. Emphasis on passing as much as possible. ‘Gold doubloons’ will be awarded for good passing. When kids hear this they will all want to do it – hopefully. This week I’d like to try something else to keep things flowing and lead by example. Coaches will be taking (gently) throw-ins, goal kicks and corners. Whilst we’re doing this I’d like us to be talking to the kids and telling then what we’re doing. “Mungo, run into space”, “Michael – make a run”, Tintin – come closer”, “Robert – through the gap” etc. Let’s show them how to do it for a few weeks then gradually we can get them to take over. In a few weeks we’ll move onto ‘re-starts’ (will explain on Saturday) and then onto the kids doing the real thing. No more than 5 a side so we will have to look at the number of kids and see how best to arrange the pitches. Again, reception will be split off and U6s will be split into ability appropriate matches.

10.20
Penalties.
Players stay on pitch they just played on and stay in their teams. I’d then like each player to have 2 penalties, one straight after the other, so that they can a) put into practice the dead ball striking they learned in Mick’s training session and b) we can give them some personal coaching right there and then on better ball placement, better connection, more power (whichever they need) and give them an instant chance to have another go rather than having to wait until next week. If they score, both goals count.

10.30
Certificates etc

Friday, 15 February 2013

Passing Session 16/2/13


9.15
Welcome.
Who has played football in the last week? Who has watched football in the last week. Chat if warm enough.
Introduction to passing.
Why do we need to pass the ball? To progress towards the opposition goal, to help assist a goal, to find someone in space, to avoid a tackle, to get the ball away from danger
What part of the foot do we use to pass? All parts. Outside, inside, toe, backheel, laces. Demonstration by coaches.http://soccerdelirium.com/2007/02/18/the-importance-of-passing-the-ball-in-soccer/

9.20
Warm Up. “one-two”
All kids, including reception, grab a ball and start dribbling around, keeping ball under control. All coaches join in (without a ball) and ask for a pass by calling “one-two” from whoever is closest and then pass back. Move onto next child and try our hardest to make sure every child gets at least a few passes. This should be quite a fast warm up with lots of activity. Obviously we need to be gentle with reception. If kids hit it too hard/soft/off target let them know what to work on next time.

9.30
Session 1. “Passing Circle”
Split kids into groups of 5 with one coach for each group. If we have 10 reception kids Mark can take 5 and we’ll need a volunteer for the other 5 this week until Mario is back.
Kids are in a semi-circle or circle around coach and coach takes it in turns to call a childs name and pass to them. They receive the ball and pass it back. First round they stop ball dead and pass back, second round they hit it first time, 3rd round we pass with outside of foot, 4th round we are all moving around and passing, This can be adapted to let the kids pass to each other if we feel it’s going well. Emphasis needs to be on accuracy and power getting both just right. If one is too weak or too hard or way off target let’s not be afraid to go straight back to that person and help/encourage them to get it right, with hints and tips on what they did wrong.

9.40
Session 2. “Passing Pentagon”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJk1Im2B3W0
Same group of 5. Set up 5 cones in a pentagon shape. Kids stand next to a cone. First one passes ball to second one then jogs towards that cone. Receiver then passes to next one and so on around the pentagon. How many can each group do in 1 minute?

9.50
Session 3. “Passing Corridor”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRZ-2MOEivM
Same groups of 5 for simplicity. Wide corridor of cones set up. Each child has a ball and passes to coach whilst slowly progressing down the corridor, one-two, one-two, child then runs back to the start and coach goes again with next child. We can do two rounds of this and then if we have time kids can pair up and do it themselves, coaches pairing up with the 5thchild but then mixing it up next round. Emphasis should be on passing the ball back to the recipient slightly ahead of where they are going to be. Need to tone this one right down for reception. Possibly no need to even have reception moving down the corridor if too tricky.

10.00
Matches.
Keep groups of 5 together? Emphasis on passing. Goal for two or more passes in a move as well as normal goals. 10 mins each way.

10.20
Passing penalties. (time permitting)
All players from match 1 (so 10 players) shoot into one goal, players from match 2 shoot into another etc. No goalkeeper. Coach starts off as receiver. First child passes to coach, receives ball back and shoots. Shooter then becomes receiver until round is complete. Try to give advice if things go wrong. Let them have another go straight away if need be to help them improve.

10.30
Certificates etc

Monday, 4 February 2013

Dribbling - Parents Materials

Hi Parents,

A few things you may like to go over with your children on dribbling if you have the energy.


Dribbling demonstration – look at how many touches the boys take in such a short period of time

Dribbling for dummies
This is quite a neat little demo with some normal looking children!

Below is a link to a basic video with techniques for dribbling – could be used in the garden or on the patio.  Make sure both feet are used

This video shows slow motion dribbling – look at which part of the foot the player is using
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn_f-GIiAwM               

Coaches - you're welcome to add more as I'm sure the kids will enjoy them.  I'm pooped.        

Dribbling Session - Coaches Sat 9th Feb

9:15·         Warm Up
A quick run round the pitch with rory or someone else
9:20  Q&A                      With Rory
 Question and answer session
a. What are the different types of ways of hitting the football
            i. Shooting
            ii. Passing
            iii. Lobbing
            iv. Crossing
            v. Dribbling
b. Name some players that are good a dribbling?
            i. Mata
            ii. Messi
            iii. Ronaldo
            iv. John Terry?
c.  What part of the foot do you use for dribbling
d  Which foot do you use for dribbling ? Both
e.  Why do we want to dribble with the ball?
            i. To get a shot on goal
            ii. To make room for a pass
            iii. To get out of trouble if a defender
followed by Simon says ball skills with Rory ( I don't want them to get cold). 
9:25 Traffic Lights with Ben (emphasis on agility) - I'd like us to put those luminous posts (a bit like in a ski slalom) for the more able children to got through as they have a tendency to just wander aimlessly and I'd like them to move with more purpose.
Drinks break?
9:35     Training 1            Corridor of Cones (as per below)
Reception corridor needs to be a bit shorter.
Start with just running then give them a ball. 
9:45       Training 2            Minesweeper (as per Ben’s outline above)
 Drinks break certificates
10:00   Matches              Versus each other or versus the under 7s

 

Sunday, 3 February 2013

Shooting practice

Hi chaps,

Not sure how this is going to work, but here goes.

I've just done a straight cut and paste from Mike's email on shooting practice.

Cheers

Rory

On 10 Jan 2013, at 20:05, Michael Lock wrote:
3. How to shoot with power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkDljTKuwsM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

4. Laces drill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F535Z6cZnPU&feature=youtube_gdata_player


7. One on one or two on one drill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3jRiWD35DQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player